Signaling system for elevators



`Mairch 8, 1932. F. E. LEwls SIGNALING lSYSTEM FOR ELEVATRS Filed June25, 192B 2 Sheets-Sheet Me fa/ Door IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 0f" INVENTORFran/v E, ew/'s Fly, Z.

ATT'oRNEY Patented Mar. 8, 1932 UNITED STATES FRANK E. LEWIS, O EASTPITTSBURGH,

PENNSYLVANIA, AssmfNoal To WESTING- HOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURINGCOMPANY, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYL- Y VANIA SIGNALING SYSTEM FORELEVATORS Application led June 23,

My invention relates to signaling systems for elevators andmore-particularly to such systems as are employed for. indicating toWaiting passengers at a'floor landing that a car will stop at thatlanding and the direction in which it is travelling.

The object of my. invention, generally stated, is the provision of asignaling system that shallbe simple and eiiicient in operation andcapable of being readily and .economically manufactured and installed.

A more specific object of my inventlon 1s to provide a signaling ksystemwhich a lamp, carried by an elevator cal-,may be employed to indicate topersons. wa1t1ng at a floor landing that the car will stop at thatlanding. p

Itis also an obj ect of my invention to provide a system for indicatingtol waiting passengers at a floor landing that carsvwill stop at thatlanding wherein a minimum number of parts are employed for accomplishingthe desired result.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious, and will, inpart, appear herein after. Y

For an illustration of one of the many forms my invention may take,reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure 1 is a view, partly in front elevation and partly in section, ofa portion of an elevator installation embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a view, partially in side elevation and partly in section. ofthe elevator installation'disclosed in Fig. 1, and showing the lamp 26as covering its maximum range.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view, partly in side elevation and partlyin section, of the signal lamp shown in Fig.2, in active position withrelation to the signal windows in one ofthe elevator doors, and coveringonly inodiication of my invention, as employed -in 1928. Serial No.287,799.

connection with a signal system embodying a floor selector.

In the drawings, I have illustrated acar 11 as suspended in an elevatorshaft, or hatch- Way 12 by al hoisting. cable 13 in the usual manner.The elevator shaft 12 is shown as extending past. the 2nd, 3rd, 4th andthlloor landings and as being provided with elevator doors 14, 15, 16and 17, at the landings, respectively. As indicated, each door is of thetype that is constructed in three sections which nest together when thedoor is opened, the door 14 for the second-floor landing lbeing in anopen position, and the doors 15, 16 and 17 being in closed positions.

In order that passengerswaiting at a floor landing may be informed whenan approaching car will stop at that floor, each elevator door isprovided with a pair of signal windows,oneof which will be illuminatedwhen a car decelerates to make a stop at that floor, the windowsbeingdesignated, respectively, as 18 and 19 for the first floor, 20 and21 for the the second oor, 22 and 23 for the third floor and 24 and 25for the fourth floor. "The windows may be of any desired configuration,but lI prefer to employ a window outlined as an arrow pointing upwardfor theup signals and a window outlined as an arrow pointing downwardfor the down signals, as shown. to aid in indicating the direction oftravel of the car when a stop is being signaled.

The-means for illuminating the signal windows at the several floors toindicate the stops to be made, comprises an up signal lamp 26 disposedon the roof of the car to illuminate the up signal windows and a downsignal lamp 27 mounted underneath the car to il- A luminate the downsignal windows as the car approaches the ioorswhen traveling in therespective directions- Y f Each ofthe signal lamps 26 and 27 is'providedwith astationary relector housing 29 and a' movable reflector' 30*(seeFigs. 2 and 3) The movable reiiector 30 is biased to the illustratedV'position in Fig. 2, by a spring 3.1,

reflector toa retracted position in order 'that y the extent of the areathrough which the rays of light from the signal lamp to the signalWindows may be controlled in accordance with the position of the carwhen it is decelerating, as Will be hereinafter more fully explained.

In order that the signal lamps 26 and 27 and their movable reflectorsmay be operated in such manner as to illuminate the signal Windows inaccordance With the stops to be made, their circuits are connected to,and controlled by, a high-speed relay 33, an intermediate-speed relay34, and a gate relay 49, as shown in Fig. 4, when the invention isemployed in connection With an inductor landing system.

My invention may also be employed in con nection with a signal systemembodying a floor selector, such as the system disclosed in the Smalleyand Reiners Patent No. 634,220, dated October 3, 1899. Then theinvention is employed in connection With a system of this character, thecircuits for the signal lamps 26 and 27 and their movable reflectors areconnected to corresponding contact segments on the tioor selector andare controlled thereby, as shown in Fig. 5.

For the purpose of assisting in concentrating the light from the signallamps 26 and 27 on the signal Windows they are intended to illuminate,each pair of Windows is provided With tivo cooperating groups ottransverse refiectors 35 and 36. The reflectors 35 and 36 on the windows22 and 23, for instance, are mounted at such angles that, when the caris approaching the 4th floor from Ebelow the floor, the light from theup signal lamp 26 Will be reflected into the up7 Window 23 by thereflectors 3G, but will be prevented from illuminating the down Window22 (see Fig.

by the retiectors 35.

In order that the passengers at a tloor landing may be given a visualindication, after the car has come to a stop, that the car is ready totake on passengers and also an indication as to the direction in whichthe car ivill proceed when restarted, an electric lamp 40 for indicatingthe up direction, and an electric` lamp 41 for indicating the downdirection are mounted Within the car in such positions as to light upthe open doorway when the elevator doors are open. The tivo lamps may bearranged to give distinctive indications in any suitable manner, as bydit ferently coloring them.

Inasmuch as the lamp 40 remains lighted during the entire up trip as ishereinafter described and the lamp 41 remains lighted during the entiredown trip, they may also be utilized for illuminatingl the interior ofthe car, as Well as for signal purposes.

As shoivn in Fig. 4, the up direction lamp 40 is connected in circuitwith a pair of contact members 7) on an up-direction-main taining relay42 and the down lamp 43 is connected in circuit with a pair ofi contact-1ne1nbers b on a doWn-direction-maintaining relay 43, in order that thelamps may be selectively lighted in accordance with the direction thecar is traveling. Relays 42 and 43 may be parts of the system forcontrolling 1novements of the elevator car, as is disclosed in mycopending applications, Serial Nos. 221,415 and 201,419, filed Sept, 23,1927, and J une 25, 1927, respectively.

The means for causing the relays and 455 to control the lighting of thelamps 4() and il in accordance with the direction ot travel of the car,comprises an up limit switcii ULA near the upper end of hatehway 12, anda down limit switch DLA near the lower end of hatchivay 12 of a typewhich will operate through an eXtension 44 on the car 11 strikw ing oneof the pivotal extensions 45 and 4G on the limit switches to open thecircuit momentarily as the car completes its upward or downward trip,the coil oi relay 42 being connected in circuit with thc up limit switchULA, and the coil of relay 43 being connected in circuit With the downlimit switch DLA.

The invention may be `best understood by an assumed operation thereof.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 and assuming that the car 11 is on anup trip and has stopped at the second tloor landing, and that the door14 and the gate 47 are open to take on passengers, the signal light 40in the car will be lighted by the up-direction-maintaining relay 42 sothat it Will shine through the open doorway to indicate that the car isstopping at the second floor landing' and also to indicate that it is onan up trip.

The up-directionmaintaining relay 42 will be energized by a circuit thatextends from supply conductor L1, through conductors 50 and 51, the coilof relay 42, conductor 52, the contact members a ot relay 43, conductor53, the contact members ot up limit switch ULA and conductor 54, tosupply line L2. The energization of the relay 42 Will close its contactmembers b and thereby complete a circuit for lighting the up7 lamp 4()that eX tends from supply line L1, through conductors 55 and 5G, lamp40, conductor 57, the contact members Z) of relay7 42, and conductors 58and 59, to supply conductor L2.

Assuming now that the attendant on the car closes the car gate 47 andthe elevator door 16, and continues the upward run to make a stop at thefourth floor. as the car approaches the proper slow-down zone tor thefourth floor, the attendant moves the car switch to stop the car.

My signal system is best adapted for elevators having a control systemwhich insuresr that the car will be stopped ievel with the floors and isillustrated as employed in connection ivith an automatic laiuilingsystem in which devices operable in correspondence with movements of thecar act to successively .deenergize the'high-speed relay andtheintermediate speed relay employed in the control system as the carsuccessively passes predetermined points adjacent to the floors tothereby cause the car to be brought to a stop level with the oorlandings. AWhen the car 11 is running at high speed, both theintermediate-speed relay 34 and the high-speed relay 33 will be closed.A gate relay 49 will also be energized, since'the car gate 47 is inclosed position. Therefore, as thecar 11 enters the slow-down zone, thatis, passes the point1 at which deceleration vshould be initiated, forthe stop at the fourth ioor landing, the high-speed relay 34 will bedeenergized, and its contact `members I) will close to energize-thesignal llamp 26 on the carl 11 by way of a circuit that extends fromsupply conductor L1, through conductor 60, lamp 26, conductors 61 and62,-the contact members a of gate relay 49, conductor 63, the contactmembers b of high-speed relay 33, conductors 64 and 65, contact membersb of up-direction-maintaining relay 42 and conductors 58 and 59, tosupply line L2;

When my signal system is used in connection with elevators operating atrelatively high speeds, such as 600 to 800 feet per minute, it has beenfound necessary that deceleration should be initiated when the carismore than one floor away from that floor at which it is desired tostop and, for this reason, it is necessary that light from lamp 26 shallbe projected through a relatively large angle in order to illuminate adoor signal which is more than one ioor above the then position of thecar. For this reason, I have shown the refiector 29 as having astationary portion so 'arranged as to produce a beam of large angularextent. Hence, when the car is operating at high speed, the movableportion of the reflector will be retracted. It will be observed that,when the lamp 26 is energized, the movable reector shield 30 will alsobe drawn back by the magnet 32 to permit the signal lamp 26 to throw itslight rays upward to shine on the signal window 23v in the elevator door16 at the vfourth oor, so that waiting passengers at the fourthvfloormay have a visual indication that lthe elevator car 11 is travellingupward and will make a stop at the fourth floor. The circuit completedbythe deenergizing of the highspeed relay 33 for operating the magnet 32extends from supply conductor L1, through conductor 70, the coil of themagnet 32, conductor71, the contact members 1b of intermediate speedrelay 34, conductors 72 and'62, the contact members a of gate relay 49,con- Vductor 63, the contact members b of yhighspeed relay 33, conductor64, the Contact members b of up-direction-maintaining relay 42 andconductors r58 and 59, to supply conductor L2. v

As the car continues to travel toward the fourth Hoor and approachesmore closely adjacent to it, the angularextent of the beam will bereduced to avoid projecting light upon the door for the'fifth floor and,in vorder to confinethe beam of light tothe floor at which l it isdesired tosto'p, I provide the retracting magnet for the correspondingportion of the reiector with a: circuit which extends through theintermediate-speed switch. Hence, as the car approachesrthat point atwhich deceleration from the intermediate speed should. occur, theintermediate-speed relay is dropped out to open the circuit to theretiring or retracting magnet, and the reflector shield 30 will be movedto the position shown inFig. 2 to confine the light from lamp 26 to thefourth-floor door.

Assuming now that the car 11 comes to a stop at the fourth-floorlanding, and the elevator door 16 and the gate 47 are opened, thecontact members 72 on the gate will be opened and thereby deenergize thegate relay 49 which will open its Contact members a and therebyextinguish the signal lamp 26.

However, inasmuch as the elevator doors 16 andthe elevator gate 47 havebeen opened,

theup lamp 40, which remains lighted during the upward run ofthe car,will throw'fits light through the doorway and thereby indicate topersons waiting at the fourth floor that the car-has stopped to take onpassengers. v f

After the carrcompletes its stop at the fourth floor and moves on up tothe top of the elevator shaft, the projection V44 on the car l1 willstrike the arm 45 on the-up limit switch ULA'and separate its Contactmembers, thereby opening the circuit for the coil of the updirection-maintaining relay 42 and. deenergizing the relay. As the relay42 is deenergized, its contact members` b open and thereby extinguishthe up lamp 40.

At the same time, the contact members a of the relay 42 will close andcomplete a circuit for energizing the down-direction-maintaining relay43 that extends from supply conductor L1, through conductors 50 and 75,the coil of down relay 43, conductor 76, the Contact members a of uprelay 42, conductor 77, the contact members of down limit switch DLA andconductor 78, to supply conductor L2.

The down relay 43, upon being energized, opens its contact members (Land prevents current from flowing through the `coil of the up relay 42,thereby preventing energization of that relay until the car moves to theground floor and opens the down limit switch DLA.

At the' same time that the-up lamp 40 is extinguished, the closing ofthe contact members on the down relay 43 completes a circuit forlighting the down7 lamp 41 that extends from supply Ll, throughconductors 55 and 80, down lamp 41,v conductorvSl, the

contact members Z) of down relay 43, conduce tors 82 and 59, to supplyconductor L2.

Assuming now that the car starts on its down trip and receives a signalfor a stop at the second-licor landing; as the car descends, theattendant centers his car switch to malte the stop at the second floorand, when the car enters the slow-down zone for that stop, thehigh-speed relay 38 is dee-nergized. The deenergization of the relay 33causes the signal lamp 27 to be lighted1 and the reflector 30a to bemoved, to a position where the light from the signal lamp will be thrownon the down-signal window 20, in a manner similar to that described inconnection with the operation ot the. car in making the up stop at the'fourth-110er landing.

It will be observed that the transverse reflectors ior the down-signalarrows are arranged oppositely from those to the up-signal arrows.Hence, light from the signal lamp 27 will be transmitted only to thedown signal windows when the car is above the respective floors.

As the car continues decelerating and enters the intermediate-speedslow-down Zone, the intermediate-speed relay Bil will be deenergized,and the reiiector shutter e will be moved forward by its biasing spring31a to throw the light from the lamp more directly on the signal window20. As the car comes to a stop at the second floor, and the elevatordoor 141 and the car gate 417 are opened, the gate relay L19 will bedeenergized, and the signal lamp 27 will be extinguished. However,inasmuch as the down lamp L11 in the ear illuminates the open doorwaywhen the car gate is open, the passengers at the landing will still beinformed that the car is on a down trip and is ready to take onpassengers.

Inasmuch as it may be desirable, at times, to employ my invention inconnection with a system embodying a fioor selector rather than inconnection with the system just described, I have, in Fig. 5, shown howthe circuits for the signal lamps 2G and 27 and their movable reiiectorsmay be connected to a `floor selector instead of to a high-speed re layand an interniediate-speed relay.

For the sake of simplicity, Fig. shows only a small portion of an up7section of a floor selector such as is employed in the signal systemillustrated and described in my copending application, Serial No.220,595, filed September 19, 1927, and assigned to the lestinghouseElectric and Manufacturing Company.

The portion oit the signaling system illustrated in Fig. comprises apassengeroper ated push button 90, a push-button relay 91 'forregistering signals set up by the pushbutton 90, a reset relay 92 forresetting the push-button relay 91, after the registered signal isanswered, and a portion of a 'floor selector. The part of the floorselector shown embodies Contact segments for the first, second and thirdfloors disposed to be engaged by a Contact brush 93 on a selector arm94:. The contact segments 95, 96, 97 and 98 are connected to thesignal-call circuits in such manner as to be energized when a stopsignal is registered. The contact segments 100, 101, 102 and 103 aredisposed to be connected to the conductor 61 leading to the signal lamp26 and are disposed to be engaged by the brush 93 it passes over thecallcircuit segments 95, 96, 97 and 98, respectively.

The contact segments 105, 106, 107 and 108 are disposed to be connectedto the conductor 71 leading to the coil of the magnet 32, for thepurpose of causing the magnet to be energized when the brush 93 engagesan energized segment connected with the signal circuit. It will be notedthat the contact segments 105, 106, 107 and 108 are only approximatelyone-haltl as long as their associated signal lamp contact segments. Theshort length is provided in order that the magnet 82 may be energizedduring only the iirst part oi the deceleration of the car in answering astop call. In this manner, the movable reiector 30 will be drawn backwhen the car lirst enters a decelerating Zone (on an up trip, forexample), so that the light from the signal lamp 2G will be thrownupward on the signal window at the landing where the stop is to be made.However, when the car reaches the middle portion o1 its deceleratingzone, the brush 93 will cease to engage the contact segment connected tothe coil of the magnet 82 and, therefore, the magne 32 will bedeenergized and the reliector 30 will be moved out over the signal lamp,by its biasing spring 31, to a posif tion where the light from thesignal lamp will be thrown directly upon the signal window at the floorwhere the car is to stop.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a means for indicating towaiting passengers at a floor landing that a car will stop at suchlanding and also in the direction in which it is travelling thatembodies a minimum number of parts and which will be easy to install andmaintain.

Various modifications and changes may be made in the system illustratedherein as embody my invention without departing from the spirit andscope thereoi` and all such modiiications and changes are intemled to becovered by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a signal system for an elevator car operable past floor, atranslucent signal window at said floor for each (ilirection ot'elevator travel, and means including a. lamp carried by said car, ,torilluminatin the window at said 'floor corresikionding to the directionin which said car is traveling as said car approaches said floor.

2. In a signal s stem for an elevator car operable past a oor, atranslucent signal Window at said ioor, means including a lamp carriedby said car for illuminating said Window as said car approaches saidfloor, and means for directing light from said illuminating means tosaid Window only when said car approaches said Hoor and istraveling in apredetermined direction.

3. In a signal system for an elevator car ,A

operable past a floor, a translucent signal Window at said floor foreach direction of car travel, illuminating means carried by said car forilluminating said Windows as said car approaches said floor, and meansfor directing the` light from said illuminating means to only one ofsaid windows when the car approaches the floor from one direction andfor directing th'e light to only the other of said Windows when the carapproaches said floor from the other direction.l

4. In a signal system for an elevator car operable past a plurality offloor landings, a signal Window disposed at each floor landing, a signallamp carried by the elevator car for illuminating the signal Windowcorresponding to the landing atwhich a stop is to be made to indicate toWaiting passengers that a stop will be made, and means for preventingthe signal lamp from illuminating more than one signal window at onetime.

5. In a signal system for an elevator car operable past a floor landing,control means therefor, a signal Window at said Hoor, a signal lampcarried by the elevator car and means operable responsive to actuationof the control to decelerate the car in making a stop at said landingfor causing said signal lamp to illuminate said signal Window.

6. In a signal system for an elevator car operable past a plurality offloor landings, control means therefor, an up signal window and a downsignal Window'disposed at' each floor landing, means for illuminatingsaid Windows carried by the elevator car and means operable responsiveto actuation of the control to decelerate the car in making a stop atone of said landings to render said illuminating means effective andmeans dependent upon the direction said car is traveling for selectivelycausing said illuminating means to illuminate that signal Window at saidlanding corresponding to the direction in which said car is traveling toindicate to waiting passengers at that landing that the stop Will bemade.

7 In a signal system for an elevator car operable past a plurality offloor landings, control means therefor, an up signal windonr and a downsignal Window disposed at each floor landing to be illuminatedtoindicate to waiting passengers the stops to be made by the elevator carand the direction of its travel, an up signal lamp and a down signallamp carried by the car, means operableresponsive to actuation ofthecontrolto `decelerate thecar tomakea stop for selectively lighting oneyof the signal lamps to illuminate the signal window corresponding tothe directionof travel of the car and the landing at which the stop isto be made, and reflectors yassociated with said v signal windows tovreflect light rays from the signal lamps-to the windows. y Y v 8. In asignalsy'stem for an elevator car operable past a plurality of floorlandings, control means therefor, an up signal window and a.,down?signalwindow disposed at each-floor landing to be illuminated toindicate to Waiting passengers the stops to be made by the elevator carand the direction of its travel, an fup signal lamp and a dovvnl7 signalylamp .carried by the car, means operable responsive to actuation ofthecontrol to decelerate the car to make a stop for selectively lightingone of the signal lamps to illuminate the signal Window correspondin tothe direction of travel of the car and the Ianding at which the stop isto be made, and reflectors associated Withsaid Windows to prevent lightrays Vfrom the up signal lamps from illuminating the down windows whenthe car is ascending and for preventing light rays from the up lamp fromilluminating the down Windows as the car approaches its stops.

9. In a signal system for an elevator car operable past a plurality offloor landings,

control means therefor, a signal window disposed at a Hoor landing, areflector associated with said Window and disposed to prevent downwardlyextending light rays from illuminating said Window andfor reflectingupwardly extending light rays to illumlnate said Window, a .signal lampcarried by the elevator car and means operable responsive to actuationof the control to decelerate the car to stop at said landing forlighting said signal lamp to illuminate said signal window by means ofsaid reflector.

l0. In a signal system for an elevator car operable past a plurality ofiloor landings, control means therefor, an up signal Window and a downsignal Window disposed at each oor landing for indicating to Waitingpassengers the stops to be made by the car, a signal lamp carried by theelevator car, means operable responsive to actuation of the control todecelerate the car for lighting said signal lamp when a stop is to bemade, and means for directing the light from the lamp to that signalWindow corresponding to the floor landing at which the stop is to bemade and the direction of travel of the car.

1l. In a signal system for an elevator car operable past a plurality offloor landings, control means therefor, a signal Window d1sposed at eachfloor landing, a signal lamp carried by the elevator car, means operablereico ate the car to make a stop for lighting the signal lamp toilluminate the signal Window associated with the landing at Which thestop is to be made to indicate that the stop will be made7 and means forpreventing the signal lamp from illuminating more than one signal Windowat one time.

12. In a signal system for an elevator car operable past a plurality offloor landings, control means therefor, a signal Window disposed at eachfloor landing, a signal lamp carried by the elevator Car, means operableresponsive to actuation of the control to deceler- 'ate the Car forcausing the signal lamp to illuminate the signal Window corresponding tothe landing at which a stop is to be made to indicate that the stop Willbe made, and means also responsive to deceleration of the car forcausing the light from said signal lamp to be directed to only thatsignal Window corresponding to the floor landing at which the stop is tobe made.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 15th dayof June, 1928.

FRANK E. LEWIS.

